Updates

Change of website domain

Request

Thank you for your email of 2 March 2015, requesting the following information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000:

Please inform me of the date (or the dates of the transition period) that the Ordnance Survey website domain changed from .gov.uk to .co.uk, and the reason(s) for the change in internet domain.

Response

I can advise that Ordnance Survey does not hold this information, because Ordnance Survey does not keep information on the exact date of change to the website domain and the reasons for this.

However under our duty to provide advice and assistance as stipulated in Section 16 of the FOIA, we can provide the following explanation which may assist you in this matter.

In 1999, OS became a Trading Fund, required to cover its costs by charging for its products and remit a proportion of its profits to the Treasury. This led to a commercialisation process including the launch of OS MasterMap (launched in November 2001) and culminating in the published address of OS being www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. I believe that this was during 2003/2004. Unfortunately, as it was over a decade ago, we haven’t been able to find the details of the exact date of the change.

Internal review

Your enquiry has been processed according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. If you are unhappy with our response, you may request an internal review with our FOI Internal Review Officer, by contacting them as follows:

Please include the reference number above. You may request an internal review where you believe Ordnance Survey has:

Failed to respond to your request within the time limits (normally 20 working days)

Failed to tell you whether or not we hold the information

Failed to provide the information you have requested

Failed to explain the reasons for refusing a request

Failed to correctly apply an exemption or exception

The FOI Internal Review Officer will not have been involved in the original decision. They will conduct an independent internal review and will inform you of the outcome of the review normally within 20 working days, but exceptionally within 40 working days, in line with the Information Commissioner’s guidance.

The FOI Internal Review Officer will either: uphold the original decision, provide an additional explanation of the exemption/s applied or release further information, if it is considered appropriate to do so.

Appeal to Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)If, following the outcome of the internal review you remain unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal with the Information Commissioner’s Office at: